US judge throws out Apple’s case against Google-owned Motorola

Apple has suffered yet another blow in its ongoing war against Android after a US judge dismissed its case against Motorola

Apple has lost yet another legal battle against Google’s Androidplatform after a US judge dismissed its claims that Motorola was charging excessive royalties for use of its standard-essential patents.

Motorola sought 2.25 per cent of the price of Apple products that use some of its patents — but Apple was only prepared to pay $1 per device, reports Tech Crunch.

Google officially acquired Motorola at the start of 2012 in order to get its hands on the company’s treasure trove of 17,000 patents. While many of Motorola’s key standard-essential patents must be licensed under FRAND (fair and non-discriminatory) terms, the leverage it gives Google over Apple is obvious.

District Judge Barbara Crabb dismissed the case on Monday after questioning whether she had the legal authority to hear Apple’s claims late last week, according to Reuters.

Apple must now convince Crabb to hear its case against Motorola Mobility, although the iPhone-maker stated that it would not consider itself bound by the judge’s rate if it exceeded $1 per iPhone.

‘A Google spokeswoman said the company was pleased with the order, while an Apple representative declined to comment. In a legal brief filed after Crabb's ruling, Apple contended that the judge does indeed have the authority to hear its claims.’

Speaking officially on the subject, Google said Motorola has long offered licensing at reasonable rates and remains committed to ‘reaching an agreement with Apple.’

Both Apple and Microsoft have now brought claims against Google regarding its patent licensing polices.

Microsoft will meet with Google-owned Motorola in a Seattle court next week but has already stated that it will live with whatever ruling is passed, which could cause problems for Apple's on-going case.